He told the BBC: "In my view there is too much work particularly at the bottom end of the labour market that is not of a high enough quality.

"There are too many people not having their rights fully respected.

"There are too many people at work who are treated like cogs in a machine rather than being human beings and there are too many people who don't see a route from their current job to progress and earn more and do better."

However he also called for an end to the "cash-in-hand" economy.

Read More

Mr Taylor - who is chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts and a former adviser to Tony Blair - said cash jobs like window cleaning and decorating were worth up to £6bn a year - much of it untaxed.

Instead workers should be paid through "payment platforms".

However others branded the review "feeble".

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "I worry that many gig economy employers will be breathing a sigh of relief this morning.

"From what we've seen, this review is not the game-changer needed to end insecurity and exploitation at work.

"We'd welcome any nuggets of good news, but it doesn't look like the report will shift the balance of power in the modern workplace."

Thompsons Solicitors' chief executive Stephen Cavalier said that the report's recommendations were "feeble and add another layer of unnecessary complexity", adding: "The creation of a new 'dependent contractor' status for gig economy workers would further complicate existing categories of how workers are defined in law.

"What is needed is one category which affords all workers all employment rights from day one of their contracts starting. This new status is unclear and unnecessary."